Hey there!!! If you know anything about me and my hand lettering journey, you know that it kinda got started due to my love for planners. It wasn’t until I started decorating in my planner that I really understood how Instagram worked. After I got a little more active on IG, I noticed this real pretty writing – which I now know as hand lettering. So, I guess I can say that if it weren’t for the interest of decorating my planner, I would have never found hand lettering.
With that being said, let’s jump right into this blog post on how to make your own hand lettered journal cards. If you’re unfamiliar with journal cards, they are typically 3” x 4” cards that have inspirational quotes/sayings, beautiful images, etc. that some people use to decorate their planners as well as Project Life projects…the list goes on and on. Before I started lettering, I didn’t own many 3×4 cards. I didn’t get a huge stash of 3×4 cards until I decided to start Project Life. Sometimes though, you want cards that say something specific and you may not have a card that says it, so you can definitely make your own! That’s what I’m going to share with you today. A step-by-step guide on how to create your own hand lettered 3×4 cards and tags!
Step 1: Determine how many 3×4 cards and tags you want to make.
Step 2: Decide what you want to letter on your 3×4 cards and tags. Like I said before, most of the time they’re inspirational or they have beautiful images. Because I am going to use mine for my fall TN set up, I went with a couple of fall themed sayings and inspirational words for both my cards and tags.
I landed on: “you are brilliant,” Welcome fall,” “today is going to be AWESOME,” “hello fall,” “smile first,” and I actually used a couple of stamps and a punch for my last tag. It says “today is a good day” and “right now.”
Step 3: Measure and cut your paper. Like always, depending on what type of pens you are using make sure that you have appropriate paper to protect the life of your pens. I went with Bristol Smooth paper. Because I knew I wanted to make three 3×4 cards (one to go on each of my TN inserts), I cut those first and used the excess for the tags. I have a tag punch and one of the measurements is 2 inches, so I had to trim a little extra off to ensure that the hole would be centered on the tags.
I cut these two strips of paper into three 3″ x 4″ cards each. I will keep the remaining three for something else.
I used these two (actually three – the third is pictured below) for the tags.
Step 4: Letter away! This is the fun part…well…if you love lettering like I do. I used Tombow Fudenosuke Hard Tip and Soft Tip for this project.
Step 5: Be a little extra. I’m a little extra. LOL!!! I added some bordering to my tags and cards as well as some die cuts. I think it adds a little something to the cards. I also added some twine to the tag holes to give them a completed look.
Step 6: Depending on what you are doing with your cards and tags (like I stated before, I am using my for my fall TN set up) decorate. Decorate. Decorate! I adhered my cards to my TN insert covers and I added the tags to the pockets in my TN.
That’s it! A simple, easy way to showcase your lettering in a practical way. I love the way it turned out! I’m looking forward to setting up my TN for the winter with some new papers, cards, tags and die cuts!!!
Here’s a look at the interior pockets where I stuck the tags.
Here are some pics of the supplies used:
Happy Lettering,
XOXO
Robyn